Australian Rules-Hawks book mouthwatering title-decider with Sydney

MELBOURNE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Reigning champions Hawthorn survived a frenzied fightback from a gallant Port Adelaide to reach their third successive Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final and set up a mouthwatering repeat of the 2012 decider won by the Sydney Swans. With under 10 minutes left in front of 74,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, the Hawks were cruising with a 28-point lead but ground to a halt as Port piled on four unanswered goals. Roared on by a huge contingent of travelling fans, the Power pushed desperately for a winner in the closing two minutes, but midfielder Andrew Moore missed a set shot from a tight angle and Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge smothered another scoring chance to help his team secure a 97-94 win. The two best performing sides of the regular season will slug it out in front of a packed house at the 100,000-seat MCG on Saturday, two years after their thrilling 2012 decider ended with a 10-point upset win for Sydney. Hawthorn were raging favourites that day but head into the rematch as underdogs after the Swans destroyed North Melbourne at home 136-65 in the other semi-final on Friday. A big part of the Hawks' preparations will undoubtedly be focused on finding a way to counter their former forward Lance Franklin. After nine highlight-laden years with the Hawks, the explosive 27-year-old crossed to the Swans in the off-season in an Australian record A$10 million ($9 million) deal and has paid instant dividends for his new team. After clinching a third Coleman Medal as the leading goal-scorer at the end of the regular season, the AFL's poster-boy has been on fire during the playoffs, and booted five goals against North in a best-on-ground performance at the Olympic Stadium. Sydney will also have their hands full in trying to stop their opponents' own power forward in Jarryd Roughead, who once formed one of the AFL's most potent attacking partnerships alongside Franklin in the forward-line. Roughead is second only to Franklin in the competition's goal-kicking this season and also heads into the decider at full steam after torching Port with six goals. (1 US dollar = 1.1202 Australian dollar) (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)